Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Tuberculosis Took These Two Young Women

This photo has obviously had a pretty rough life, but we treasure it and share it, even in it's bad condition. Pictured here are (l to r) Mabel King (1901-1988), Della Grace King (1903-1925), and Ackie Ellen King (1898-1919), daughters of Jacob and Sarah Permelia Glover King of Marion County, West Virginia. They were all grandaunts of my husband, Larry Jamison. Their next older sister was Hester Lily Day (King) Roberts (1895-1985), my husband's grandmother.

From research I'd done a few years ago, I knew that both Della and Ackie died as young women, but I had no relatives to interview to discover the causes of their early deaths. I was grateful when the West Virginia Death Certificates became available online, as I was able to view (and save) their death certificates.

This death certificate for Ackie Ellen King shows that her death was caused by Tuberculosis at age 21 years, 3 months and 21 days. Ackie was the wife of David Lawrence Efaw and was the mother of Hester and Edward Efaw.

This is the death certificate of Della Grace King, who died unmarried at the age of 21 years, 7 months and 1 day, also from Pulmonary Tuberculosis. Della was the youngest of the 10 children in the family. What losses this family suffered, and what pain they must have felt upon the deaths from Tuberculosis of these two precious young daughters.

I think of my husband's Grandmother, Hettie. At age 23 she lost her next younger 21-year-old sister, then at age 29 she lost her baby sister to tuberculosis. I feel for her even now.

I have spent the past 2 days closed in my bedroom with plenty of tissues, a cold, and my laptop. Yes, working on genealogy for nearly 10 hours a day.

And I must say there are many deaths from consumption/tuberculosis in my family as well. I also look at those people who have died young and hope that the fact that they lived will always be remembered. I feel that way about children who died young as well.

Sad but timely story. They have just diagnosed a resistant strain of TB in the US from another country. We look upon it as something from another time, but it is still with us.Thank you for sharing about those sweet girls.